Most of these young geniuses had been destined for greatness since birth, growing up showered with glory in their respective organizations. When facing the other young geniuses that came from all over the dominion, their competitiveness was ignited. None was willing to fall behind anyone.

Joining the Dragon Phoenix Academy practically guaranteed glory. They were akin to a fish that had transformed into a dragon, officially embarking on their path to greatness. Thus, it was understandable why they would be overwhelmed with excitement after passing the test. The elders also understood their feelings. After all, a few thousand years prior, these elders had also experienced the same when they first joined the academy.

Relying on his perseverance, Tang Longfei finally reached the top, and he only had a few final steps left before he could complete the test. The draconic aura around him was growing thicker and thicker, yet he was moving slower and slower. His entire body was drenched wet with sweat, and he was almost fully exhausted.

"I am the number one young master of the Bloodsin City. How can I fall here? Obstacles, scram!" Tang Longfei roared as his spirits surged. Once again, he exceeded his limits, and with a final spurt of energy, he charged to the 81st step, completing the test to become a Dragon Phoenix Academy disciple.

The moment he reached his destination, he collapsed onto the ground and gasped for breath. The act of climbing the stairs was similar to fighting an expert to the death, and it greatly exhausted him. Shortly after, Lady Shura also managed to reach the top.

The shura apparition hanging behind her was extremely conspicuous, attracting the gazes of several elders. As for Ning Wenhuang, she still had one third of the stairs to cover. She would have to rely on herself to reach the top with the remaining time.

Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun was still in the process of breaking through. Due to the effect of the formations, the flow of spiritual energy in the air wasn't too smooth. Fortunately, he had the astral cosmos sea within him. After using a large number of spirit crystals, his body became abundant with energy.

However, the massive amount of energy he had did not seem to be enough. Under the pressure exerted by the formations, the energy was compressed and purified, and as a result, the amount of energy he required for breakthrough kept increasing.

Fortunately, he was rich enough. Otherwise, he wouldn't have enough spirit crystals to support his breakthrough. After using even more spirit crystals, he was able to barely gather the amount of energy required.

The energy gathered in his nine stars before flowing through his meridians and acupoints. The purified energy pushed the limits of his body, bringing him to the next stage. In the process, his entire body was enveloped by a layer of rippling energy.

The breakthrough that seemed so near seemed to have suddenly become difficult, as if additional shackles had been placed within him by the formations, disrupting his energy flow. If the breakthrough failed, he would suffer a backlash from his own energy. At that time, he would be injured and might even suffer damage to his foundations.

That was why the elders weren't too optimistic about his chances of breaking through on the steps. Only now did Xiang Shaoyun realize the situation he was in, and he started getting anxious. He had initially expected the breakthrough to be smooth and had not expected something like this would happen.

He was akin to a boiling pot of water. The steam was trying to leave the pot, and if the lid wasn't removed, the pot would eventually implode due to the pressure. A possible solution was removing the armor on him to reduce the suppression on him, allowing him to better resist the pressure brought by the formations.

However, in his current condition, the act of removing his armor would be a distraction. Thus, he braced himself and absorbed even more energy into his body. At the same time, he used even more spirit crystals, flooding his body with a terrifying amount of energy, pushing himself to the brink of implosion. The people passing by him could see that he was bleeding from the seven orifices and were given a big fright.

Standing at the entrance, Xiao Wei became even more anxious. "That damnable kid is actually absorbing even more energy? Is he trying to kill himself?"

He could see that Xiang Shaoyun was in a crisis. If no help was given, death through bodily implosion was very possible.

"Hehe, Xiao Wei, what a nice disciple you have recruited," mocked Feng Huosuo.

Xiao Wei had nothing to say; his heart was filled with disappointment for Xiang Shaoyun wasting a special-recruit quota. Toward the end of the time limit, quite a number of people had already reached the top. Naturally, there were still a lot of people struggling on the stairs, and some had already given up. Since the pressure wasn't something they could withstand, it was pointless to keep struggling. They all wore listless looks.

Tang Longfei and Lady Shura also noticed Xiang Shaoyun's condition. Their hearts were filled with worry. As for Di Tong, who had also arrived at the top, his face was filled with joy. He wanted nothing more than for Xiang Shaoyun to fail. On the other hand, Di Shang was still stuck at the final 10 steps. However, he did not appear nervous. Rather, he turned around to look at Xiang Shaoyun.

When he saw Xiang Shaoyun bleeding from his seven orifices, he laughed, "Haha, interesting. Do you think you can get through the test just by breaking through? Hah, look how you've played yourself to death!"

Not far from the stairs, the Han Clan sisters couldn't see Xiang Shaoyun clearly, but they also similarly sensed that he was in a terrible condition. Before long, the time period allotted for the test would end. If Xiang Shaoyun still remained where he was, he would be disqualified.

That also signified that they wouldn't be able to join either. They felt that it was a pity, but they felt even more indignation on behalf of Xiang Shaoyun. After all, they both knew his strength and did not believe that he should have been eliminated at this stage.

Time passed, and in the final 30 minutes, a change finally occurred with Xiang Shaoyun.

"Roar! Roar!"

Abruptly, apparitions of dragon and tiger surged out of his body and roared, unleashing a terrifying pressure that caused the stairs to ripple around him. At the same time, all nine of his stars erupted like a volcanic eruption.

The terrifying explosion of energy charged the final node within his body, forcefully smashing through it. Ordinarily, an energy eruption of this level would cause a backlash and directly destroy Xiang Shaoyun's acupoints and meridians. But with the suppression of his armor and the formations, the energy was suppressed, and it coursed smoothly within him, reaching every corner of his body.